Monday August 30, 2004
Court Rules Parents Can't Sue Hospital because Stillborn Child Not a Person Under The Law
AUSTIN, August 30, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Parents who allege their child was stillborn because of a doctors' negligence have been told by the Texas Supreme Court that they cannot sue, because the law does not acknowledge the child as a person.
The court decided 7-1 Friday to uphold the legal definition that a child only becomes a person once it has started breathing. The ruling overturned a lower appeals court decision that would have allowed Tara and Donnie Reese to sue a Fort Worth hospital for negligence in the death of their son.
In May, 1998, Tara Reese, seven months pregnant, developed a fast pulse and dizziness, so went to Fort Worth Osteopathic Medical Center. She said her son would still be alive if the hospital had immediately delivered by Caesarean section.
The Texas legislature rewrote the Wrongful Death Act in 2003, allowing the same legal recourse for unborn children who die from violent crimes. Lawmakers added an exemption for doctors for actions triggering the death of an unborn child.
The only dissenter, Justice Steven W. Smith, said the unborn should be entitled to the same protections ensured by law.
Tara Reese called the decision a "slap in the face," according to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram report. "It is kind of ridiculous that they are not recognizing him as a human being. It is appalling."
Read about a similar Australian decision:
Coroner Rules Stillborn Child Not A Person Under The Law
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/sep/02092007.html
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